EU welcomes deal on forming new Bosnian government

The European Commission today welcomed the formation of a coalition government in Bosnia and Herzegovina and encouraged the government to take further steps to ensure the country gets its bid to join the EU back on track.

Catherine Ashton, the EU’s foreign policy chief, and Štefan Füle, the European commissioner for enlargement and neighbourhood policy, said in a statement that they were “encouraged” by the announcement of a coalition government after a year of arduous negotiations. The two said they “look forward to further concrete steps to put Bosnia and Herzegovina firmly back on track towards the EU.”

Six political parties announced on Wednesday (28 December) they had agreed on forming a government as well as a budget for 2012. Talks had been going on since the 2010 October elections between political parties from Bosnia’s Serb, Croat and Muslim communities. The parties had until now failed to agree on how to share out the government ministries.

The coalition talks also led to an agreement to pass laws to comply with demands the EU has set for the multi-ethnic state to meet before it can apply for EU membership. Meeting the EU's demands is expected to result in more EU aid flowing to Bosnia which is suffering from not having a full functioning government in place for over a year.

The formation of a new central government and a new budget plan were pre-conditions for Bosnia in getting funds from the EU as well as the International Monetary Fund (IMF).

The European Commission had blocked €100 million in budgetary support to Bosnia until a new government was formed.

Its last progress report on the former Yugoslav republic earlier this year noted that the political situation in the country had deteriorated and risked a return to violence.